Hockey fans... what do you think about today?

It's open season,that's what it is.Everybody is betting they're going on strike in '04,and that they're gonna stay out long.Teams are dumping salaries.Did you hear Hasek wants to come back,and Det. wants Cujo to waive his no-trade?Who's gonna pick him up for 9million next year?Maybe the Habs if Theo ends up in jail!HaHa!

 

What did Jose Theodore do?

Colorado may have a killer offensive lineup, but look at the defensive corps the Wings have now. Sorry, but defense wins Stanley Cups nowadays. If Hasek comes back in good form, the Wings will be virtually unbeatable beyond the blue line. Now if only they can get a decent forward for Joseph they'd be all set.

 

Defense may win games, but has there ever been a lineup like Colorados? I think even the best defense will struggle with this offensive powerhouse. Pierre Lacroix is also looking in to some defensemen and possibly a vetern goalie. If this does happen, who is gonna stop the Av's? NO ONE!

 

Definately. You are right about the Tanguay and Selanne lines, incognito. Just sick!

Plus, Federov does not want to be in Detroit anymore. Bill Guerin wants to go back to Boston (you are welcome back Bill - anytime.) Now if the B's could get Federov to bite, too....hmmm....

 

His Dad and his brothers run a loanshark ring(allegedly,but they've been arrested)And José hangs out at Hell's Angels parties.He shares a bank account with his father and is being investigated.
Oh yeah,he got he big contract and choked too

 

Leafs had better sign someone. It'd be nice to know that those inflated ticket prices are at least going back into the team.

I heard Bryan Marchment wants to be a Leaf, and they are also after Ken Klee and Glen Wesley.

Crappy D was what killed them last year, and with the retirement of Svehla things may be worse.

As for the West, Detroit isn't going to be the same offensively without Fedorov, while Colorado isn't going to be the same without Roy. Hmmmm...

 

I'm guessing that Federov will be back. Nobody's gonna give him the contract he's asking for. If he does leave it will be for substantially less than the 10 - 12 large per year for 5 years that he's asking for (he turned down $50M for 5 yrs mid-season). Wherever he lands I truly believe he'll spend the 1st quarter of the season sulking.

If he does not come back. Pavel Datsyuk is really beginning to warm up. He's not Federov yet, but the kid has mad skills. Likewise Heinrich Zetterberg. With Hasek, Lidstrom, Hatcher, and the rest, the Wings need only score 2.5 per game.

Peace,

James

 

I think the Rangers might...

From what I hear it's official that Fedorov will not be back with Detroit next year, but that could just be whistle.

 

I don't know....In the 70's Montreal could put Jaques LeMaire, Yvon Cournyier, Frank(?) Mahovlich, Henri Richard, Guy LaPointe, on the ice in various combinations.


Don't forget the 80's Oilers either,

Gretzky, Kurri, Messier, Anderson and a few others that I simply can't recall right now. Most of the names I've mentioned are in the HoF already. Messier is a lock.

Peace,

James

 

Ken Holland's "official" position is that they don't expect him back. The $40M / 4 year deal is off the table, but Holland has said they'll be open to talk if things don't work out elsewhere. If New York (minus Messier) doesn't bite, he'll be back. I don't know if Sergei can hold up under the NY fan pressure. He had it easy in Detroit. But then again, only goalies (and Primeau) have had it tough in Detroit.

Peace,

James

 

From what I hear it's Fedorov's agent who said he won't be back in Detroit.

Also, expect Messier to be back with the Rangers. The deal they made with the Sharks is almost definitley one of those silly "compensatory pick" deals in which NY resigns Messier, SJ gets a draft pick in return. Saves a few bucks I suppose.

As for the NY fan pressure... I think if Lindros and Bure can do it... Fedorov just might be able to also!

 

If Messier does wind up back with the Rangers, then I think Sergei will do fine. If Messier is not there, there'll be temptation to look to Sergei to lead the team. Especially considering what his paycheck would look like. That's not his forte. Don't get me wrong, Sergei's one of my favorite players ever. I hope he somehow winds up keeping the winged wheel on his chest. But he is not a locker room leader type of guy.

When Yzerman was out, Sergei held up his end and then some on the ice. The lockerroom was held together by Chelios and to some degree McCarty. Lidstrom and Federov are the guys that nail the execution on the ice. If Sergei is in a situation where he has to do both, I don't think he can handle it. Especially in NYCNYUSA.

Peace,

James

 

I think the craziest thing about all of this is that Kariya signed in Colorado for $1.2M, that's an $8.8M paycut! His buddy Teemu signed for a about $4M more than that. Combined, the two of them still cost less than Patrick Roy, which means that the Avs have some money to spend on a goalie and possibly another defenseman.

With all these big budget teams signing all these players it really makes me sick that the Oilers cannot even afford Todd Marchant, a guy who makes under $3M, even after they dealt Carter and Niniimaa. However, given the Oilers situation I can't blame them for letting Todd go. They have to get the best value for their buck, and while he would be worth the money if he played the way he did last year, I can almost guarantee he will never do so well in his career again. Everything worked out great last year for Marchant, with the Comrie injury he got a chance to play with Smyth and Hemsky and got a ton of pp time as well. Plus you know guys play twice as hard when their contract is up at the end of the year. I think Marchant is a very good player and the Oilers will miss him, but he is not going to get 60 points a year. He is just a good two way forward who will get you 30-40 points.

Detroit has an awful habit of signing all my least favorite players. Hasek is a whiner and one of the most annoying players in the league, I used to really hate Hull, although playing for Bowman actually made him a decent player even if he is still the cockiest guy in the league. Now Hatcher -- by FAR the dirtiest player in the league, every bodycheck from this guy is an attempt to knock the opposing players head off, he is also a big fan of hard crosschecks to the lower back. Guys like Scott Stevens can hit twice as hard, but they hit shoulder on chest, not elbow on face. Did I mention that Hatcher is a coward too?? Whenever he hits dirty the other teams tough guys will challenge him but he runs away, then goes and picks a fight with guys like Demitra . An idiot too, wasn't he the one who threw the Stanley Cup off a balcony and dented it really bad? How about the US olympic team trashing their hotel rooms in Nagano? If you havn't noticed, I dislike Hatcher somewhat .

 

Alla this makes no difference to me...I'm a Philly fan.


Kariya AND Selanne on Colorodo is obscene.

 

The reason why Kariya signed for "only" $1.2M for one year is so that he can be an unrestricted free agent again next year.

He'd invoke his status as a Group V free agent, which stipulates that players of a certain age making less than the league average salary ($1.79M) are unrestricted.

Since he's going from a trap team to an explosively offensive team, this is a great chance for him to pad his stats, which can only make him more money next year. Not a bad business decision actually.

 

Except that everybody in the know associated with the game says they're will be no hockey in '04,possibly a full season lockout,the 2 sides are that far apart.
I'm not a Selanne fan,he's a one-way player gettin'up there by NHL standards.He's the kind of European who dissapears come April.

 

I saw Selanne interview in yesterdays paper, he said that they decided with Kariya to stick together and search for a team that has chances of winning the Stanley Cup. "We knew that Colorado is bit short on budget, so we choose not to make any huge demands for salary", he said.

Well obviously it suits Kariya for the free agent business and all, but could it be that they actually took (slight) financial setbacks for sportmanship reasons?